OOPS: Florida Gov Seeks $1B To Battle Rising Seas

The Tampa Bay Times reports:

Faced with mounting evidence that sea level rise and intensifying storms will cost Florida governments billions into the future, Gov. Ron DeSantis this week announced a $1 billion investment over four years to allow local governments to build new infrastructure to address the impacts.

If the Legislature approves the new program, “Resilient Florida” will use revenues from the state documentary stamp tax to pay for the debt service on $1 billion in bonds for projects that address the impacts of climate change.

“The purpose of this is to tackle the challenges posed by flooding, intensifying storm events and sea level rise,” DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference to announce his proposal for a record $96.6 billion state budget.

Read the full article.

GOOD IDEA 💡⤵️
Florida badly needs infrastructure investments to strengthen coastal resilience. We applaud @GovRonDeSantis for prioritizing in the proposed creation of Resilient FL + potentially $1B+ for sea level rise mitigation projects:https://t.co/R4phbUsL6S

— Ocean Conservancy (@OurOcean) January 29, 2021

“The Governor’s commitment to invest $1B for local govs to better plan and prepare for sea-level rise and flooding is welcome and necessary,” said @MCarsonMitchell. “But the governor has failed to invest in reducing our reliance on dirty fossil fuels.” https://t.co/xCr3jme9IN

— Florida Conservation Voters (@FCVoters) January 29, 2021